At most colleges the fall term is underway, and campuses are slipping into the familiar rhythms of a new academic year.

For some institutions, the year ahead shows signs of hope. Johnston Community College, in North Carolina, is celebrating record-breaking enrollment. At the University of North Dakota, recently hired faculty members and administrators learned more about their new home state on a three-day bus tour that stopped at attractions and landmarks in its northern half. And new students everywhere, eager to make connections with their peers, have dozens of highly scheduled Week of Welcome activities behind them.

At the same time colleges are also navigating thorny issues. This fall they’re preparing for natural disasters, facing lawsuits that stem from canceled classes and activities during pandemic shutdowns, and, tragically, processing yet another incident of gun violence on campus.

It remains unclear how the year ahead will play out. But the data below provide a snapshot of the promise and unexpected challenges of the new academic year.

20%

The increase in the amount families were expected to spend on back-to-college costs in 2023

The total expected spending rose to $94 billion in 2023, according to the National Retail Federation’s annual survey of back-to-school shopping. That amount is nearly double the total in 2019 — thanks to inflation — and it breaks down to $1,367 per household. More than half of the increase in total back-to-college spending can be attributed to the purchase of big-ticket items, like electronics and furniture, as well as food.

$3.7 million

The average cost of a data breach in the higher-education sector in 2023

According to an annual report from IBM, higher ed had the 11th-highest costs from data breaches out of the 17 sectors tracked. The average reported across all industries: $4.5 million.

Higher ed is a frequent target of cybercriminals. Last month the three-campus University of Michigan system shut down its internet service on the first day of classes amid concerns about a “significant security concern,” officials said. Meanwhile, a growing number of colleges have been named in ransomware class-action lawsuits, following a data breach linked to a file-transfer service whose users include higher-education institutions.

13,000+

The number of City College of San Francisco students whose outstanding fees were paid off so they could re-enroll this fall

For some students at the community college, tuition is free through the city’s Free City College Program. But that doesn’t mean they won’t accrue fees that, if left unpaid, could bar them from enrolling. A fee balance of as little as $10 can derail them.

Last month the city of San Francisco began clearing the debts of city residents who attended the college between August 2017 and December 2022. Paying off the fees was made possible with a $2.1-million allocation in the city’s budget and will continue until the money has been applied to all accounts with outstanding balances.

“With this funding, we’ll be able to help a new generation of students transfer to four-year institutions and get job training,” said Alan Wong, president of the college’s Board of Trustees and co-chair of the Free City College oversight committee, in a written statement.

$10,000

The amount of money Middlebury College offered to 30 juniors and seniors to take a leave of absence this fall and winter

During the pandemic, Middlebury allowed students to take leaves of absence, and many of them did so. This fall an overflow of returning students led to an on-campus housing crunch for juniors and seniors. According to federal data, Middlebury’s undergraduate enrollment last fall was 2,773; it’s typically about 2,500 students, the Vermont institution said.

So in early August, the college offered 30 juniors or seniors $10,000 each to take time off and start the 2023-24 academic year in February 2024 — after 220 students graduate, more than double the usual number.

The college said undergraduate enrollment should return to normal levels next spring.

7

The number of days that the start of the academic year was delayed at the University of Hawaii’s Maui College

Classes at all colleges in the University of Hawaii system were slated to start on August 21. But once wildfires devastated part of Maui, in early August, the campus there became a key part of efforts to help local residents.

A student lounge was turned into a disaster-recovery center, and another building is operating as a food-preparation hub, where volunteers — including the college’s culinary students — have been preparing meals for both victims and first responders.